The Diamond Line

The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Literary Magazine

The Diamond Line, an undergraduate literary magazine.

Fiction Pieces

Visual Arts

Poetry Pieces

Ultramarine by Verna Bryan

Fiction

We were in the jellyfish exhibit when the world exploded.  

Just seconds before, Adam and I had been gazing absently at the gelatinous bodies of the jellyfish as they floated around the tank’s electric blue water..

Epics Should Be Sung by Chance O'Neal

Poetry

Climb the stars. 

Breach the sky on a staircase of bright. 

Surpass this world 

and reach the next..

Bus Ride by Jese Espenschied

Fiction

One time I was riding the bus home and I got lost in thought. I don’t remember what for, but as I slowly sunk into my thoughts, the bus made its rounds. People got on, people left, people made weird faces at me as I stared— it’s interesting how people assume you’re creeping, and not a million miles away, questioning the fabric of the universe, dueling with an alternate version of someone you know..

Our Cat by Erin Allen

Poetry

comes along

on our family walks

just like a family dog..

something nuclear by Ian Ramser

Fiction

The leaves crinkle under our feet as the bare branches of trees loom overhead. It is fall, and as we breathe in the crisp air our exhales let off a faint mist. The sight of trees and blue sky above is seemingly endless..

The Earth and Her Parents by Courtney Conley

Poetry

My parents have been smoking since I was five. 

Large plumes filled the kitchen, 

painting the walls charcoal gray..

Notes From the Ground by Jackson Cook

Fiction

The whole world stands above my spot on the floor. I am overlooked by everyone in the Moore household except for the tabby cat, Mr. Anderson. Although, they step on me almost every time they walk through the living room..

Tell Me Nothing by Bia Edwards

Poetry

How long can two not-strangers 

Talk without saying anything 

Your tapioca soaked voice  

Fat and sweet in my ear 

Hanging on to the decorated nothing..

Raking Clouds by Lauren Dial

Fiction

There was a line of broken fences all the way down the Wyoming state line. It happened after the hills let the sun roll down their slopes to rest. Ranchers scrambled to their artillery safes, stuffing rounds into their pockets and strapping rifles around their chests..

Pink Like Roses by Jennie Orlando

Poetry

Pink like roses, the sun floats over. 

Its pearl halo unfolds like petals. 

Its coral bud reveals itself to onlookers. 

Its acute blaze is its thorns,

pricking the eyes at a visual touch..

Kalea by Brian Nicholson

Fiction

A wolf’s howl out in the forest drew Kalea’s attention from the fire she was stoking. Her bald eyebrows furrowed as her silver eyes peered out into the flickering shadows of the treeline surrounding the campsite..

Walking to my Car at Night by Morgan Nance

Poetry

 A herd of leaves tumble across the black asphalt. 

Different shades of orange and brown..

Buried in the Sand by Heather Drouse

Fiction

On a buildup of rocks smoothed round by the water of Lake St. Clair sits a little girl. This little girl has just turned six years old, and so she wears her new, frilly two-piece bathing suit that she got from her mom..

Existential Crisis by Morgan Nance

Poetry

I question Death, 

We sit together on park benches 

I tell him what air tastes like..

Poetry Pieces

Poetry Pieces

Seven Years by Jordan Smith

Poetry

6:10 PM, 9/27/2021 

tw: anorexia 

i do not have a scale//i cringe away from mirrors in my girlfriend’s apartment//i cry in the bathroom after someone won’t stop talking about calorie deficits & protein shakes masquerading as meals..

Inhabit by Kath Rees

Poetry

clothes hanging 

on a body 

 

Small, some say, 

sugarless,         pale..

Garage door by Jordan Looper

Poetry

I opened my garage door one day 

And let in a rat.  

He was fine at first,  

With his cute little whiskers and nose..

Sometimes I feel tiny by Madison Varns

Poetry

not tiny as in insignificant 

or momentary 

but small – childlike..

Bogus Shit by Madison Varns

Poetry

I wanna stay on bogus shit 

like shit you’ve never seen before, 

like the shit that’s only in movies, 

but it’s my life

the music of my newest nephew by Caroline Jennings

Poetry

there isn’t much more pure than that breath 

of yours, even if it does induce a sound 

akin to the geese that used to chase us..